Router issues

December 26, 2024 3:16 PM

Help setting up wifi router with CenturyLink modem

I have a new Netgear RAX10, and an older Tp Link AC1750 router.

I want to use one of these as wifi router for the Century Link modem that is installed in my house. Ive been on and off with providers and thought Id check in here because nothing is working.

Wifi from both routers is strong
Internet is flowing to the modem, but both routers are not receiving signal from modem. Swapped cables multiple times.


I can't remove the modem from the wall to see model number.

Complication: no accessible device with ethernet jack, but there is a desktop in the basement.

Accessing router interface through phone is unreliable.

posted by kittensofthenight to Computers & Internet (4 answers total)

Is this modem expecting PPoE from the router to connect to the internet? The router should have options to talk to a fiber modem and setup the right authentication.
posted by nickggully at 8:40 PM on December 26

With my previous CenturyLink modem / gateway I think I had to set it into bridge mode, to use with my ASUS wireless router. But that was some time ago... my memory fades.

If it's useful, last year I bought a mesh router. I returned the CenturyLink gateway and plugged the ethernet from my CL fiber box straight into my mesh router. It's been so much better.
posted by NailsTheCat at 6:35 PM on December 27

Oh. Just saw on my link that "Also, fwiw, the router must be plugged into port 1 in the C4000LG modem."
posted by NailsTheCat at 6:38 PM on December 27

Here's what I did recently at a family member's home, in case any of this helps you.

The household subscribes to CenturyLink broadband (40 Mbps). Fiber comes out of a wall into a Calix ONT. The Calix ONT connects via Ethernet cable to an old CenturyLink C1100Z "modem" (router and wifi access point), which provided the household's wifi network.

The problem was that the C1100Z wifi network didn't reach the whole house, and it only provides 2.4 GHz. I did not want to pay CenturyLink's inflated price for a new "modem". We already had a somewhat newer device on hand, a TP-Link AC1750 (router and wifi access point), and I wanted to use that for wifi because I figured it would provide stronger signal and better support for multiple devices being online at the same time. It also offers both 2.4 and 5 GHz.

I did not have an adapter to plug an Ethernet cable into the available laptops, so I needed to arrange this over wifi.

Here's what I did:

1. Plug the AC1750 into power and turn it on.
2. Run an Ethernet cable from the modem to the AC1750. I don't know if it matters whether to plug it into the WAN port or LAN port, but I plugged it into a LAN port.
3. Connect to the AC1750 network via a laptop, log into its admin panel, and configure it to serve as only an "access point". This allows the C1100Z to continue serving as the router. I thought this might be easier than connecting the Calix ONT directly to the AC1750 and configuring PPPoE credentials on the AC1750, although that was my backup plan, because other people have figured it out. (It's a documented option.)
4. Confirm that the AC1750 network provides access to the internet. (Tip: Do any necessary firmware updates at this point.)
5. Connect to the C1000Z wifi network via a laptop. Log into the C1000Z admin panel and turn off its wifi radio. (Might have been a better idea to just change the wifi credentials to something else, so I'd have it as a backup option, but I figured I could reset it and start from scratch if things didn't work out with the AC1750.)
6. Connect to the AC1750 wifi network again. At this point, I couldn't access the AC1750 admin panel through a web browser. Instead, I had to connect to the AC1750 wifi network on my phone and download the TP-Link Tether app. Using the TP-Link Tether app, I updated the AC1750 wifi network to have the same username and password as the old C1000Z wifi network, so that nobody in the household had to update wifi credentials on their phones/computers/etc.

It worked, more or less. Connection speeds mostly improved throughout the house, although I was still seeing some inconsistency before I had to go home. My next step would have been to try a direct connection from the Calix ONT to the AC1750.
posted by dreamyshade at 2:23 PM on January 2